In baseball in a critical situation, sometimes you need to put in a pinch hitter to change the flow and momentum of a game. Say you’re the Red Sox in the late 80’s and you’re down by a run in the ninth with men on second and third with two outs. Jody Reed enters the game and promptly slaps a pitch off the Green Monster for a double, scoring two runs, giving the BoSox the lead. The Axe Fixers line is like a young Jody Reed, leading the AL in doubles in 1990, completely changing the game.

The Axe Fixers line is a collection of shower gels and deodorant body sprays that are “designed to help guys revitalize the senses to fix their mind and change the game.” The collection is comprised of six fragrances:

The two most recent additions to the line, “Thai Massage” and “Cool Metal”, were the fragrances that I used to adorn my body. “Cool Metal” was a little more generic in terms of scent and feel; the scent itself reminded me of the “Original” scent of body wash from Old Spice. It also contains a strong dose of menthol which you could feel open up both the pores on your skin, and your nose and sinuses as well. It also contained quartz which may sound strange in a body wash, but it complemented the menthol nicely. “Cool Metal” was definitely more middle of the road than some of the other fragrances, more like a safe bet for someone making a transition from a similar body wash, definitely less exotic than the rest of the collection.

Speaking of exotic, “Thai Massage” was certainly that. Billed as containing “Tigergrass Oil and Bali Sea Salt” just the smell itself was more potent and practically whisked you away upon opening the lid. One thing I liked about “Thai Massage” that differed from Cool Metal were these tiny little yellow capsules in the gel. When you popped them open individually, a new scent was released, in addition to the primary scent. Ultimately “Thai Massage” had four different scents in one gel that were merged together- Tigeergrass Oil, Bali Sea Salt, Ginger and Sandalwood. I found the smells to be very relaxing and complemented each other nicely.

As far as the washing experience itself, both scents rinsed clean off with minimal scrubbing and didn’t leave behind any slimy residue. But it did leave behind a scent that was at least strong enough for my “special lady” that particular evening to smell. Her exact response was, “Wow you smell really fresh, compared to usual. What gives?”

In closing, “Cool Metal” was less exotic, more of a classic scent; something your dad may use. “Thai Massage” was my personal favorite and I swear I was more relaxed after using it.